


dreams fight with machines

by prismpvwer



Series: when the truth hunts you down [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: copious description of victorian london, getting to know each other....... i guess, once again bastardization of judeo-christian beings, three angels walk into a victorian seance...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:40:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23937775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prismpvwer/pseuds/prismpvwer
Summary: yuta meets a demon under the suffocating gaslamps.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Nakamoto Yuta
Series: when the truth hunts you down [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696294
Comments: 38
Kudos: 79





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3SCSbeTFTfHh0svYYX3tNO?si=1pZ1nTx5TbunutBy1KoAug)

**october 1874.**

Yuta hates London. 

He isn't sure what he would have had to do to get an assignment of somewhere _warm_ , at the very least, but he clearly hasn't done it this time around. The city was cold and dreary, low hanging clouds stifling narrow streets already clogged with greasy smoke from gas lamps and chimneys. 

The smoke seems to cling to him from every angle, seeping into his skin. If this isn't hell, he isn't sure he'd last even a day in Sheol. Luckily, he knows he doesn't have to, but the idea makes him shiver nonetheless. Maybe it's just the chill in the air.

He'd been sent to London the month prior with the knowledge that a new hellmouth had opened in the city. Angels rarely bothered themselves with the earthly plane unless there was a hellmouth nearby. Demons rarely strayed far from the mouth itself, making it a somewhat easy location for angels to keep an eye on their happenings. Yuta, Taeil and Johnny had all been sent to keep the balance in London. They didn't want another Florence. 

This latest assignment was the first time that he'd been on Earth for an extended time _since_ the overrun of Florence, and Yuta definitely would choose to be in Florence again anytime. Florence in 1497 at least had the boom of the arts in the city. What did London in 1874 have to offer him? Grey clouds and rain and filth?

Yuta glances up to the sky as he walks through Saint Giles on his way to meet the others at a public house, watches as a puff from a chimney is nearly thrown out of the house next to him. It matches the color of the clouds, and he scowls at the sight of it. 

Taeil and Johnny both told him that he needed to be a bit more willing to explore the city. They were in London on assignment, which was meant to be one of the greatest honors they could experience, being asked to attend to the matters of Earth. Yuta didn't understand why it was such an honor. He'd much rather be back at home. 

He's trying to make the most of it, however, and he'd been doing his duties as best he could. Demons were foolish and used their power often, which meant that they were able to track them easily and spot their victims before the demons could devour their souls. 

There's been a number of souls that Yuta has already placed a mark onto, making them immune to attempts at consumption from demons. There hasn't quite been a reason yet to use smiting against the demonic population in London, and Yuta has to hope it doesn't come to that. He doesn't _hate_ demons, thinks them more of a nuisance. 

Those kind of thoughts he keeps to himself. He knows that the archangels wouldn't be happy to hear that particular opinion from one of the angels that have been sent off on assignment. He isn't sure how Taeil and Johnny feel about it, either. He hasn't wanted to tell even them, his closest confidants, for the fear that they'd mention something to _someone_ that shouldn't hear that specific strain of thought. 

It isn't that he doesn't trust Taeil and Johnny; that's hardly the case. Yuta just can't help but worry. He's not sure that his sentiments would be enough to get an actual punishment, but it isn't something that he's willing to risk. 

The promise of rain makes him hurry a bit faster through the streets, past the rookery near Great Russell Street. He casts a glance to the maze of streets, spares a thought for the poor souls there before he turns, about to head for the public house that Johnny had mentioned he wanted to try when Yuta left early that morning. 

He's prepared to just keep walking past the rookery when a flash of awareness flashes behind his eyes. Yuta stops in his tracks, eyes focused on the dreary street in front of him. Humans, all humans. None have been touched by a demon. He isn't sure why his senses suddenly alerted him of the proximity of a demon. 

He's never been wrong about it before, so he doesn't take any steps to move away from where his feet seem rooted to the rough cobblestones beneath his feet. He's glad that he does, as after a few moments, the flash happens again. Yuta turns to see a figure on the corner near the rookery. Taller than him, broad, and he can see the light, pale grey horns curling through his hair. 

That's the demon that Yuta had sensed. He's about to turn, to move closer so he can get a better look when another awareness settles over him. 

When angels are in close proximity with demons, they're able to get a reading of every soul that the demon has marked for consumption, as well as every soul that they have consumed already. 

Yuta can't read any souls on the demon in front of him.

He doesn't know what to think. In all of the millennia that he's been alive, he's never once come in contact with a demon who hasn't marked a single soul for consumption. In Florence, he had stumbled across a few who hadn't yet consumed the souls, but they had marked plenty of them. This was different. This felt _wrong_. 

The way that the demon is standing in front of the rookery makes Yuta nervous. There's so many souls inside the grim neighborhood, so many unassuming humans who are just trying to get by. He does a quick scan of the souls inside and comes up with a blank page. None of the souls inside have been touched by any demons, much less the one standing in front of him.

He's sure that the demon can sense him there. Like angels, demons have a keen awareness for other supernatural beings. But the demon doesn't turn to look at him, doesn't spare him a glance. It unsettles him almost as much as knowing that the demon hasn't marked a single soul. 

A droplet of rain falls onto his cheek, pulling him from his thoughts. Yuta turns, finally, dragging his eyes from the demon at the corner of the street. 

He heads away from the rookery, the thought of the demon trying to cloud over everything else in his mind. He's itching to tell Taeil and Johnny about it, about what he had just witnessed. He's curious if either of them had ever come into contact with a demon who hadn't marked any souls, though he has a feeling that their answers will be the same as his own. 

Yuta pushes through the dark wooden door, walking into a haze of smoke and a ruckus of noise. _Humans_. They were so unnecessarily loud. He scrunches up his nose and begins to make his way through to the small dining area in the back. Yuta spots Taeil and Johnny instantly, settling across from them. 

"Well you look like you've seen a ghost." Taeil remarks as Yuta nearly slumps into the wooden bench across from him. "We've already ordered you something." 

Angels by design have no need for human food. But if they're stuck on assignment, they often find themselves searching for small pleasures - food being one of those things. 

"Not a ghost." Yuta says, shaking his head. He glances around at their surroundings, no one's listening to them. They're too busy drinking gin, it seems, but he doesn't want to take any chances. There could be someone listening that he doesn't realise, he wouldn't be able to wipe their memories of the conversation if that's the case. "You know." 

Johnny sighs, drumming his fingers on the table. "Seems like we're seeing them more and more often." It's to be expected of course, with a hellmouth in the north of the city. But it was still frustrating to know their work hasn't yet dispersed the demonic population of London. The threat of a repeat Florence was ever looming in the back of their minds. 

"I didn't see.. There weren't any marks. He hadn't made any yet." Taeil's brows furrow in response to Yuta's words and it's clear that the other finds it just as odd as Yuta did when he saw the demon on the streets of Saint Giles. 

A heavy silence settles over the trio. Yuta knows that they're both thinking the same sort of thoughts that he did before coming into the public house. A demon who hasn't marked a human for their consumption is unsettling to them all.

Yuta hadn't wanted to bring that heaviness to their table that evening, but he also knows that he wouldn't have been able to keep it to himself. It's the sort of thing that Yuta knows will weigh on his mind for the next few days, whether he likes it or not. There will be other duties that he must attend to, but Yuta's sure that his mind will be preoccupied. 

Just as he thought, Yuta finds his mind wandering to the Saint Giles demon, as he's taken to referring to him in his head, more often than he'd like over the next few days. Yuta knows he's directed, that his mind wanders more than it should. It isn't as though he's completely slacked on his duties, but he finds that his head just isn't in it. He knows that Taeil and Johnny have noticed. It seems they're picking up most of his slack, and Yuta knows he'll need to find a way to repay them. 

Yuta wishes that he would have gotten a look at the demon's face. He tells himself it's so he could easily spot him if he was to come across him in London again, but the reality is that he'd be able to know it was him by the pale color of his horns and by reading him for souls. Yuta wouldn't ever call a demon _pure_ , but the reading that he'd done of him the few days prior had been the closest a demon could get to a pure reading. 

He's spent most of the day around St. Pauls Cathedral. It's a rare day with the sun nearly shining, attempting to peek through the dreary grey fog. There's been a lot of demon activity in the area, though he supposes that's nearly always the case. Demons aren't as repulsed by the idea of churches and crosses as lore might have humans believe. In Yuta's experience, the sigils tend to draw them in like magnets. A crop of human souls for the taking. 

Yuta finds himself settled in the garden on the south side of the cathedral, keeping an eye out for any souls that might have been marked. It's a quiet day, for the most part. A few humans have passed him with a mark, and he's been able to overwrite the demonic impact as they've moved past him, with a simple meeting of their eyes. It's the only way that angels are able to save souls, and he's thankful that demons aren't able to overwrite angelic marks in the same way that angels are able to overwrite demonic ones. 

It's been a few hours since he's had a flash of awareness of any demonic activity, and Yuta's eyes scan the page of the book that he's had laying in his lap. It's a tattered thing, something he picked up from a bookseller near Marylebone High Street. He's just getting into the storytelling when he gets a flash of awareness and his head jerks up, only to see the demon from the Saint Giles rookery standing at the edge of the gated garden. 

Their eyes meet and Yuta pushes himself to stand. He does a quick reading only to discover that he still has not placed any marks. Yuta can't stop himself when he closes his book, slips it into the large pocket of his coat and stands. He isn't sure what he's doing, why he's doing it, as he crosses to where the demon is standing. 

"What are you doing here?" Yuta blurts out without thinking. The demon raised an eyebrow at him and Yuta exhales slowly. He hadn't meant for the words to slip from his lips. He knows that the demon knows he's an angel, even if he can't see any of his angelic features. The demon in front of him doesn't seem to care to hide his features from the other supernatural beings in the city, his horns curling through his messy hair. His short, sharp fangs are visible when he opens his mouth to respond to Yuta. 

"I'm just seeing the city. I didn't know that I wasn't allowed." Yuta nearly sputters at that. He's not sure why he suddenly finds himself unable to speak clearly or rationally around this demon, but it's _frustrating_. 

The demon raises his eyebrow again at him, as if pushing him to answer. "You're allowed." A beat passes before he speaks again. "Why have you not marked any souls?" He asks suddenly, wanting to know. He's felt unsettled for nearly a week, and now he finally has the demon that made him feel that way in front of him. Yuta can't help but to ask.

To his credit, the demon in front of him looks taken aback, if only slightly. He opens his mouth to respond when another flash of awareness passes behind Yuta's eyes and he looks past the demon in front of him to see another at the end of the street running parallel to St. Pauls. 

"Jaehyun!" The other demon calls out. He's shorter than the two of them, Yuta can tell that from even this far away, with a shock of silver hair falling over his forehead. "Stop conversing with angels, I want to go to- oh, I shouldn't say. There's an _angel_ listening." His laugh is loud and Yuta winces. 

The demon in front of him, Jaehyun, smiles, his fangs glinting in the dull light. "Take some time to think on it. We'll see if you've figured it out by the next time I see you."

He turns and walks away then, leaving Yuta with more questions than before. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3SCSbeTFTfHh0svYYX3tNO?si=1pZ1nTx5TbunutBy1KoAug)

Yuta finds he's stuck in something of a rut. It isn't that he's unhappy to be in the city on assignment. He's unsure if it's written into his genetic makeup to be unhappy about being on assignment. It seems as though it might be the sort of thing that the angels don't exactly have a choice in. 

Rather, instead of feeling unhappy, Yuta simply feels _nothing_. He doesn't think it's necessarily a negative thing, but it's just that he doesn't feel strongly either way about marking souls, about tracking demonic activity across the city. It's simply an obligation, something that he has to do day in and day out. 

It's these sort of thoughts that Yuta makes sure to keep to himself. He knows that Taeil and Johnny don't feel the same. His friends are understanding, but there are boundaries to that sort of understanding that Yuta isn't sure they'd breech. Not that he blames them, by any means. He knows that it would be easier if he fit into that exact mold of thinking. 

There's little to no disruption to his days lately, it seems. He hasn't seen the demon from the rookery since that day in front of the cathedral. But that doesn't mean that Yuta hasn't thought of him, because he most certainly has. Nearly every day. 

Thoughts of the demon, questions about him, plague him while he keeps watch for marked souls. Yuta doesn't want to keep thinking of him, but it seems no matter what he does to distract himself, the thoughts come back. 

It's eating away at him, and he knows that both Taeil and Johnny have noticed that _something_ is wrong. He likes to think that he's done an alright job of turning the conversation away when they start to ask him questions. There are simply some things that he needs to keep to himself. 

Too many things, it seems. 

He's gotten stuck in a mundane routine and Yuta finds that he desperately wants to break out of it. He hasn't ever wanted to stray from a routine so strongly before. When he's home in Shamayim, they have a daily routine as well. Worship, tend to humans, things like that. It isn't as though he's ever had free reign of himself and his choices there either. The freedom to just _be_ is something that's always been lost on angels.

It's simply never bothered him until now.

All it takes is one lingering, worried gaze from Johnny one evening to make Yuta decide that he's had enough, and from the look on Taeil's face, it seems as though he's noticed as well.

"Stop staring as if he's sprouted horns." Taeil chastises Johnny, an exasperated tone to his voice. Yuta barks out a laugh at the shocked look on Johnny's face. 

"What? I didn't, I was-" Taeil raises an eyebrow at him as he splutters and Johnny snaps his mouth shut with a sheepish look on his features. Yuta spares him a glance from where he's standing out on the small balcony of their house in Belgravia. The pair inside starts to bicker playfully, but Yuta doesn't pay it any mind. 

He needs some sort of break in routine, they need to get out of their house and do _something_ before he goes absolutely insane. Yuta turns suddenly, walking back inside and shutting the doors to the balcony behind him. The sound is loud in the quiet of their house and both Johnny and Taeil look up to him in confusion. 

"Let's go out." He says suddenly, and both of them exchange a confused glance with each other. Yuta can't exactly blame them. He knows that he's been acting odd over the past few weeks, ever since he saw the demon at the rookery. That, paired with a sudden exclamation of wanting to go out and see London, a city that he's been so unwilling to experience, has to be something of a surprise to them. 

Taeil speaks first, after a few moments of silence. "Out where, exactly? Did you want to go to another public house?" 

Angels are not forbidden from experiencing some of the heady delights that humans partake in. Rather, they are encouraged to think of God, think of the heavens, and make wise decisions from there forward. The three of them have not exactly been strangers to some of the vices that London has to offer, such as gin and ales, but never in excess. They are without the human desire for excess, in any case. 

"No, not really." Yuta shakes his head. He wants to experience something new, something interesting. He's been doing the same thing for days on end, each day repeating as the one before. While Johnny and Taeil might have been fine with that routine, Yuta isn't. Not anymore. He needs more. "There's an.. event happening tonight near Bishopsgate." 

Johnny's eyes narrow slightly before he speaks again. "An event? What sort of an event is taking place that far east?" 

Yuta pauses before speaking again. It's the sort of thing that isn't exactly welcomed, but like everything else, it isn't forbidden. He doesn't know what either of them will think about his suggestion, but they're both looking at him expectantly and he _does_ want to go, so he decides to just get out with it.

"It's a seance." Taeil's eyes widen and Yuta holds up a hand to stop him from saying anything more, to let him continue. "I know, it isn't quite a place that we should go, maybe. Humans dabbling in darkness. But it can't _harm_ us, you both know that. And besides, who's to say that the humans are even able to summon anything? It's probably nothing more than a theatre show." 

It's an awful lot of explanation, almost as if he's trying to convince the both of them that it'd be okay to go to the seance. And maybe he is - but maybe he's trying to convince himself as well. 

A blanket of silence settles over the room, and Yuta holds his breath. He's convinced they're going to say no, and then they'll start questioning him and he won't be able to lie to deny all of the thoughts that have been marinating in his mind about the demon, about his purpose, about being on assignment-

"Let's go." Johnny's voice cuts through the spiral of thoughts that are going through Yuta's mind. 

Taeil's eyebrows furrow and he stands from where he's been seated on the settee near the fireplace. "I don't know."

Yuta inhales, holding himself straighter, hoping that it comes off as confidence; in himself, in his decisions. "I'm going to go regardless. You can come with me, if you'd like." With that, Yuta turns and heads for the door, stepping into the boots there as he reaches to take his heavy wool coat off of the hooks. 

"Don't be so dramatic, just wait." Taeil says with a huff, and Yuta focuses on buttoning up his coat. "We're coming with you."

The coach ride to Bishopsgate is quiet. Yuta's mind is spinning as he wonders what's going through Taeil and Johnny's heads. They must think he's lost the plot entirely if he's suggesting going to a seance. 

Quite honestly, maybe he has.

The streets are clogged with gas lamp fog and coaches alike, and Yuta stays quiet as he stares out the window of the coach. There are so many souls in London. The population is ripe and impressionable; no wonder a hellhole opened up here. 

Johnny and Taeil chatter across from him in the coach, but Yuta pays them no mind. His mind is elsewhere, even though he'd hoped that getting out and doing something, seeing the city, would help to clear his thoughts a bit. It isn't exactly working so far.

"Where did you hear about this," Johnny pauses, casting a glance to the coachman. Yuta rolls his eyes, he can't hear them. "This _event_ , anyway?" 

Yuta reaches up, drawing a nonsensical design in the fogged up window. "I overheard some humans talking about it while I was out earlier today." He shrugs before he leans back in his seat. 

"Humans say a lot of things." Taeil remarks, raising an eyebrow at him. Yuta isn't entirely sure what he's getting at, so he simply stays quiet. It allows for Taeil to continue, which he does. "It's just curious that this is what you chose to pick up on and remember. It isn't a bad thing, Yuta." 

Taeil's voice is gentle, and it causes Yuta's heart to twist painfully inside of his chest. He knows that he hasn't been entirely honest with the two of them, and with how _kind_ Taeil is being, it makes him regret keeping his thoughts from the pair sitting across from him. It isn't enough to make him speak up, however.

"I suppose they do say a lot of things. I just think we ought to get some sort of new experiences out of this, don't you? If we're stuck here." 

_Stuck here_. The words slip out before he can stop them, falling into the space between them. Yuta is quick to turn his gaze back to the window, watching the streets pass them by as they make their way through the crowded streets. 

"We aren't stuck here, Yuta. We're here on assignment. It's an honor." Taeil says, and Johnny murmurs his agreement. Yuta takes in a deep breath before he gets the courage to turn his attention back to them. 

He plasters on a smile to his face, nodding. "I know. It's just a phrase. I didn't mean it." 

Yuta isn't entirely sure if it's the truth. A strong part of him thinks that he did mean it, that he does feel stuck here in London. On Earth.

He can feel Taeil and Johnny's eyes on him as he turns his gaze to the window once again. He _knows_ that they want to ask him more questions, That maybe they just don't know what to say. He knows that, and he understands it more than they might realise. Yuta himself doesn't know what to say. Doesn't know how to vocalise all of the things that are going through his mind, the intrusive thoughts.

The coach they're in comes to a stop in front of a large house with candles in the windows. Yuta squints through the gas lamp fog before he steps out of the coach. Taeil and Johnny follow, making their way towards the house curiously. The coachman is waiting, and Yuta pulls a few shillings from his pockets, dropping them into his hand with a quiet _thanks_ before he turns, pushing his way in front of Taeil and Johnny to lead the way inside the house.

"Stop gawking. You don't have to come with me, if you don't want to."

In the end, they both follow Yuta inside to the seance. He pays their entry fee, dropping a few extra coins into the hand of the young boy in the entryway. Yuta flashes him a smile as they pass; money is worth nothing to him. The boy could use it more than he could ever hope to. 

The house is a maze of narrow hallways leading to a great room in the back of the house. As with everything in London, the entire house feels weighed down with a dampness that saturates every corner. Yuta very pointedly does not think about what Taeil and Johnny might be thinking. He, quite frankly, doesn't want to know.

The room where the seance is to be held is large enough to fit nearly 25 chairs facing a small makeshift stage. On the stage are two more chairs as well as a small, round table, draped in a shaggy fabric. Yuta raises an eyebrow at the sight. He supposes he didn't know what to expect of a seance, but this somehow isn't it. The trio settle into a row of chairs to the left side, Yuta on the edge and Taeil and Johnny next to him. 

The room is nearly filled to capacity, and the only light source is a number of candles near the stage. The flickering lighting casts an almost eerie aura throughout the room, but Yuta can't stop thinking about how much of a hoax the entire night is going to be. He doesn't mind, though. Even angels need some sort of entertainment at times.

The candles suddenly all blow out, causing a few screams from various audience members. As they come back to light moments later, the woman leading the seance is seated on the stage. She looks every bit the part, draped in rich purple and reds, her face mostly concealed by sheer fabrics. 

As she begins to speak about the spirits contacting her, how there's a very special spirit here tonight, and a very special person who the spirit wants to contact, it's cemented in Yuta's mind that this is entirely for show. He spares a glance to the pair next to him, and luckily, they seem fully entertained by the humans antics. He settles in to try to enjoy the show himself. 

Yuta has to give it to her that she's quite the actress. As she asks for volunteers from the audience, she's able to tell them exactly what they want to hear, it seems. Yuta can't fault her, because many of those in the audience want to speak to lost loved ones, and it appears that she gives them a bit of closure. 

The smoke from the candles constantly being blown out and relit by a hidden assistant gets to him after nearly thirty minutes of the performance and Yuta leans over to Johnny. 

"I'll be back." He whispers, and Johnny nods, never taking his eyes off of the woman onstage and her performance. Yuta is glad that they're having a good time and not, instead, still questioning him about his choices. 

Yuta pushes himself up from the chair, moving around to the back of the audience, before making his way back down those narrow hallways. He's about to step outside when he hears a small voice. 

"Leavin' already, mister?" He turns to see the young boy who they paid their entry fee to. Yuta's face melts into something of a warm smile. 

"Just stepping outside for some fresh air." He reassures him and the boy frowns. "Is everything alright?"

"Another mister said he was doing the same thing. Be careful, sir, he made me feel kinda nervous." Yuta furrows his eyebrows, doing a scan of his soul. Clean, no marks. It's a relief, but at the same time, Yuta doesn't like that he can't save his soul. Not yet.

"Thanks for the tip. I'll keep my eyes open." 

Yuta steps outside, the chill of the air causing him to pull his coat closer to his body. The boy's words echo in his mind, and he scans the area for any suspicious figures. It doesn't take long until his eyes land on him. 

"Jaehyun." Yuta calls, clearing his throat and crossing to where he's standing at the edge of the sidewalk. The demon turns to look at him, a sharp smile spreading on his lips. It'd almost be unsettling, but for some reason, it isn't. 

"Ah, the angel who keeps following me. What _is_ your name, anyway?" Jaehyun remarks, tilting his head. Yuta comes to a stop in front of him. 

"Yuta."

"I wouldn't expect you to be at a seance, Yuta." He can't quite figure out what hearing his name on Jaehyun's lips feels like.

Yuta shakes his head. "I could say the same for you."

"Actually, we frequent places like this." Jaehyun hums. "It's easy pickings. Souls ripe for the taking. When humans allow themselves to experience something supernatural, no matter how fake it might be, they open themselves to all sorts of things." 

The realisation of Jaehyun's words are like a slap across his face. Yuta doesn't know why he hasn't thought of that before. Of course demons would populate events like seances. Humans who attend such rituals are _hoping_ for a touch of the supernatural. A demonic mark would nearly be welcomed.

Yuta looks up to watch Jaehyun, scanning him, and again, there is nothing. No marks. "But you still haven't made any marks."

Jaehyun laughs, tilting his head as Yuta stares at him. "And have you figured out why that is?" 

He pauses. Yuta has been thinking about Jaehyun nearly nonstop since the first time he saw him, trying to figure him out. He's an anomaly to Yuta. But that doesn't mean that he's figured him out. 

"I have no ideas about why any demon would willingly not mark souls, so unless you're simply not allowed to.." Yuta trails off, and Jaehyun shakes his head in response. 

"I'm allowed to. I'm allowed to do whatever I please." It's a statement so stereotypical of a demon that Yuta can't help but let out a laugh. Demons face very little consequence to the King of Sheol for their actions, and thus they have run free on earth for millennia. 

"So why don't you, then? Isn't marking and consuming souls the whole _point_?" Yuta asks. The only purpose of demons, as far as he is aware, is to collect and consume souls to join their legion.

Jaehyun nods. "It is. But I don't need to." 

Yuta doesn't know much about how things work in Sheol. He doesn't care to know. But what he does know is that demons must consume souls to stay on Earth. It's the only way for them to have enough power to stay on this realm. It doesn't make any sense to him that Jaehyun wouldn't need to do that. 

He's about to speak, to question him on that point, when Jaehyun lets out a sigh. "The seance is ending. I'm sure your two companions wouldn't exactly be impressed to see you conversing with a demon."

"No, I suppose they wouldn't." Yuta says quietly, stepping backwards. Jaehyun offers him a smile, softer than before. 

"I'll be seeing you." 

Yuta has no doubt that he will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay in this chapter tbh i've been playing animal crossing


	3. Chapter 3

The next time that Yuta decides he wants to get out of their house to go see the city, he decides to go on his own. Taeil and Johnny are out taking a stroll through Regents Park that evening, so he doesn't even need to come up with a half-assed excuse as he makes his way through Bloomsbury. He doesn't like lying to them anyway, so it's easier this way.

Bloomsbury is a neighborhood that Yuta finds himself in regularly. Russell Square was frequented by many people of all sorts, an easy place for him to settle in for the day and keep an eye out for marked souls. His reason for going that night, however, has nothing to do with his assigned duties.

Yuta skirts past the square, heading for Bury Place, a tiny nook of houses nearly on the edge of the rookery, worn down with only a few candles to light the windows. Yuta pauses in the small square in front of his destination. His heart is beating faster than he expected.

While he had gone to a seance just two weeks before, this is different. A seance was a show, put on for an audience. Those in attendance were of a higher class, simply there for the experience and to be able to go to the parlors to gossip about it in the days to come.

Yuta walking into a cartomancers house to get a reading is entirely different than attending a seance to gossip.

He isn't sure what pushed him to do this, he doesn't even know if it's legitimate. For all he knows, it'll all be a show with an actor, just like the seance turned out to be. However, Yuta can't shake the feeling that it isn't just a show. 

He crosses the courtyard finally, knocking on the door and stepping back to wait. He focuses on the souls in the surrounding houses, breathing out a sigh of relief when he doesn't sense any marks. Moments later, the door in front of him opens to a young man quite a bit taller than him with dark hair. He beckons Yuta inside, and he goes without question.

"He's just preparing, it'll be a moment." The man pauses, furrowing his eyebrows. "Oh, you are here to see Kun, right?"

Yuta can't help the small smile on the corner of his lips as the boy seems worried that he's just let a complete stranger into the house for no reason. "I am. My name is Yuta."

"Oh good. I'm Yukhei." He says, visibly relaxing as a wide smile spreads on his face. 

Yuta can't help but to be endeared to him. He seems genuine, though Yuta has to wonder if anyone in this sort of line of work is exactly genuine. A part of him knows that he's just making assumptions, there's sure to be some genuine people in the cartomancy business. 

"It's nice to meet you, Yukhei." Yuta starts, and just as he speaks, the door behind Yukhei opens. Standing in the doorway is a shorter man with an equally as kind face. 

"Bothering the patrons again, are you?" He remarks, though the smile on his face tips Yuta off that he's only teasing. Regardless, the tips of Yukhei's ears turn red and he sputters out a response, until the man crosses to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He quiets down then. "You must be Yuta. Sorry to keep you, we can get to your reading now, if you'd like." 

Yuta nods, assuming that this man is Kun. He hands a few coins to Yukhei before Kun motions for him to follow. He does, moving after Kun into a small room, lit by a number of candles across the various surfaces in the room. It's tiny, really. Just big enough for a small table, two chairs, and a dresser against the window, which has a curtain drawn. He thinks that if he was to stand in the center of the room and stretch both of his arms out, he'd be able to touch both of the walls. 

"Have a seat." Kun says, his voice gentle. Yuta does as he's told and settles into the chair that's closest to him. Kun turns his back to him, lighting another candle before he sets it in the middle of the table. 

"Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice." Yuta remarks, eyes on the flame in front of him. He pulls his eyes away from it to see Kun watching him with that same gentle smile. 

"It's not a problem. I'm glad you came." For some reason, Yuta feels like it's true, and not just something that Kun says to every person that he does a reading for. "I'll get started now that you're settled."

Yuta can't help the odd twist in his stomach as he nods. He's looking forward to seeing what Kun has to say, though he can't help but to be entirely skeptical, regardless. After attending the seance, it feels like he can't be too sure how credible any of these people are. He doesn't exactly believe in magic, or anything of the like, anyway. From what he can tell, it's all a hoax from humans, looking for a way to make money. 

He can't blame them, though. Humans need that sort of thing to survive in this day and age. 

Kun flips a card as he begins, letting out a low hum. "I see that you're uneasy about something." 

It seems generic, but Yuta stays quiet. Anyone could be uneasy, that's hardly something very specific to him. Yuta feels his already low expectations for the evening drop. 

"No, not uneasy." Kun pauses, running his fingers over the surface of the card that he's holding. "You're restless. On edge."

At that, Yuta sucks in a breath, feeling his stomach swoop slightly. Those are precisely the feelings that he's had in the past few weeks. The feeling of restlessness, of boredom, of being on the precipice of something about to happen; all of those things have plagued him repeatedly. 

And yet, he still isn't entirely convinced. However, he gives Kun a small nod regardless.

Kun chooses another card from the deck, placing it on top of the first card. "Your restlessness isn't tied to a particular event, but there is something that has made it even more prominent." 

Maybe not something, but someone.

"Your restlessness comes from within, but," Kun flips another card. "Your mind is focused on this outside force. There's a puzzle that you're unable to solve." 

An image of Jaehyun flashes through his mind. Jaehyun on the edge of the rookery. In the shadow of St. Paul's Cathedral. In the fog of the gaslamps in Bishopsgate. He's certainly a puzzle that Yuta has yet to figure out. Kun's getting a little close for his comfort now.

He pauses before flipping another card, and their eyes meet. There's an understanding that Yuta can see in his gaze, and he isn't sure what to make of it. 

Kun breaks the eye contact, fingers deftly moving another card from the deck. Yuta nearly holds his breath, unsure of what Kun is going to say next.

"This puzzle is someone who is your opposite. A dark to your light. But you are drawn to them as a moth to a flame. The same is for them. They're drawn to your light." 

Yuta's suddenly feels short of breath and he turns away from Kun for a moment, coughing in an attempt to catch his breath. Suddenly his heart is racing, pounding in his chest. It's too close to reality, too close for comfort. 

He looks back to meet Kun's gaze a moment later, and a small smile is on his lips. "I think that's enough for now, or do you want me to continue?"

"Yes, that's fine. More than enough. Thank you for the reading." Yuta feels shaken. Maybe there is magic out there that Yuta doesn't know about. 

Yuta stands then, pushing the chair back just enough to be able to move towards the door. He's just about to open it when he hears Kun call his name softly. He pauses. 

"I would be careful as you try to solve this puzzle. They're of a more important status than you might expect, and with that status comes a need to watch yourself carefully." Kun says, a gentle tone to his voice. Yuta feels his stomach knot up in response.

"I'll do my best."

The night air is a welcome relief after being in a room with so many candles. 

Yuta had left quickly moments before, bidding goodbye to Yukhei, nearly stumbling into the cool air as he did. It wasn't often that Yuta would claim that the pollution of London was refreshing, but apparently, it was something that he had simply needed that night. 

His feet had carried him away from the small square in Bloomsbury, all the way through Broad Street. It was as if he had no control over where he was going, simply wanting to walk, wanting to clear his mind.

It isn't until he comes to a stop in front of Somerset House that he realises he's nearly at the river. Yuta pauses, lost in thought as he stares up at the sprawling offices, the grey stone imposing against the orange hued light given by the gaslamps. He's lost in thought when he hears a voice behind him.

"You're out late." 

Yuta turns on his heel to see Jaehyun standing behind him, something of a smile on his lips. His eyebrows furrow before he answers him.

"I could say the same for you. Though, I suppose demons are creatures of the night, aren't you?" His words draw a laugh out of Jaehyun, and Yuta is surprised at how melodic the sound is. 

Although, in hindsight, he supposes he isn't sure what exactly he had been expecting. Some sort of dark and horrifying sound? It's simply a laugh. 

"You're right. I was on my way to the river for a walk, if you'd like to join me." Jaehyun offers and Yuta hesitates.

He knows that he shouldn't. There's nothing good that could come with spending close personal time with a demon. There is absolutely no reason for him to do such a thing. And yet, he agrees.

Jaehyun leads him through an alley, past Somerset House, and soon they're at the embankment of the Thames in all of its dreary, muddy glory. 

Jaehyun is quiet as they walk, and Yuta doesn't bother to fill the silence between them either. It's nice, though he knows that there's a lot of questions itching beneath the surface for him, and there's only so long that he can keep them inside. 

"He called you Jaehyun, didn't he? The other demon from the cathedral." He says finally, and he can see Jaehyun nod out of the corner of his eye. 

"That is what he called me." Jaehyun agrees, but Yuta can tell that it's not a direct answer. That there's more beneath the surface, more to what Jaehyun isn't saying. 

Yuta takes in a breath before he tries again. "That isn't your real name, is it?"

Jaehyun lets out a laugh then, and there's a smile on his lips. Yuta has to tell himself to look away from how _bright_ it is. 

"I'm sure that Yuta isn't your real name either, is it, angel?" Yuta raises an eyebrow in response. 

"Good point." 

He thinks of his real name, can't remember the last time that he was called by it. Even Taeil and Johnny rarely called him by his celestial name, just as he did the same with them. Initially upon their arrival on Earth, it was simply so not to draw attention to themselves. But speaking that way in public had turned into speaking that way in private, and now Yuta can't remember the last time he'd heard his name spoken aloud. 

"You want to know my true name, don't you?" Jaehyun asks as they walk along the Thames. The sound of the water lapping against the shores of the river makes for a steady source to match with his breathing. For some reason that Yuta can't explain, being around Jaehyun made him feel more on edge than usual, so it's nice to have that grounding force.

"I didn't ask for it." 

"But why else would you have brought it up?" Jaehyun shoots back after Yuta's answer comes out a bit more defensive than he anticipated, and Yuta supposes he can't deny that. He is curious, after all. If only in an attempt to figure out who, exactly, Jaehyun is; to attempt to solve the puzzle.

Kun's warning before he had stepped outside rings in his mind once again.

"Okay, I can't deny that I'd like to know." Yuta admits them, casting his gaze away from Jaehyun, focusing on a small passenger boat making its way down the water next to them. 

Jaehyun hums, and Yuta can see him shove his hands into the pockets of his coat in response. "I'll tell you my name, but only if I can also know yours." 

Yuta hesitates then. It isn't that he wants to keep it from Jaehyun, per se, but it's simply that he hasn't said it aloud for months, if not longer, and it feels almost odd to him to say it now. 

Especially to a demon.

"Okay." He says finally and he pulls his gaze from the water just in time to see Jaehyun smile. Yuta can see the glint of his fangs as he does, and Yuta holds himself back from the shiver that threatens to run through him, though not out of fear.

"I want you to tell me yours first." Yuta isn't exactly sure what game that Jaehyun is playing at with his request. Yuta doesn't think that Jaehyun will withhold his name if he says his first. Even if he does, as far as Yuta knows, knowing Yuta's name won't give Jaehyun any sort of leverage over him.

"Alright." Yuta agrees, running his tongue over his bottom lip. They're approaching the Houses of Parliament now, if Yuta squints he can make out the shape of the spires against the dark, heavy clouds. "Adriel." 

The name feels heavy on his tongue.

"Adriel." Jaehyun echoes, and this time Yuta can't suppress the shiver that makes its way down his spine. Celestial names are often reserved for only those of the same plane - mortals are, under no circumstances, to know their names. There is a clear divide between them. He supposes that Jaehyun is not exactly a mortal, though he hasn't ever known the protocol for telling a demon his celestial name. It simply hasn't ever come up. "It suits you." 

Yuta shrugs in response. "Well, it is my name. I'd hope that it suits me." 

This draws another laugh out of Jaehyun, and Yuta is somehow proud that he's been able to do so. It isn't as though Jaehyun seems to carry himself extremely seriously, but even so, the knowledge that he can cause a laugh from him.. Yuta shakes the thought from his mind. There's no need to go down that path.

"You have to tell me yours now." He points out, and Jaehyun nods.

"So I must." He pauses, coming to a stop. They're a few paces from the newly renovated Westminster Bridge. It's late enough in the evening that there's barely any people around, but Yuta has to wonder if there's any mortals nearby for which he'll have to wipe the memories of their interaction. 

As they stand in front of each other, Jaehyun seems to let his guard down. Yuta has always known that demons, like angels, are able to alter their appearance to the mortal eye. There are some aspects of demons, however, that they are not able to hide from angels, such as their fangs and the blackening of their eyes as they use their powers. In that moment, however, Jaehyun allows his horns, dark, inky black in color, to appear and curl through his hair. 

Yuta thinks it ironic that black horns are a sign of no souls consumed, that they might even be considered pure. It's almost contradictory.

And yet, in that moment, Yuta can't stop looking at him. He's never thought demons in their true form to be hideous, like the opinion that is held by many of the other angels. He's always thought himself quite neutral in his opinion of their appearance, it's never concerned him so he's never thought twice about it. But now, it does seem to concern him as Jaehyun stands in front of him. 

Yuta can't take his eyes off of him. He doesn't want to.

"My name is Asmodeus." Yuta's breath catches. 

Asmodeus. 

Jaehyun is one of the seven princes of hell.

The door slams behind him and Yuta can see Taeil startle from where he's seated near the fire. 

"Sorry." Yuta mumbles, shrugging off his coat and hanging it on the hook. Taeil stays quiet, folding over the corner of the page in his book before he sets it on the arm of the chair, standing and crossing to him.

"You're getting in rather l-" Taeil cuts himself off as he comes to an abrupt stop. 

"Late? Yes, I know. It's very late." Yuta finishes for him. He can't seem to help the slightly irritable tone to his voice as he speaks, his mind too full of other things (of _Jaehyun_ ) to train his voice to do something else.

"Yuta." Taeil says, a low tone to his voice.

"What?" He doesn't want to snap at Taeil, it isn't as though he's done anything wrong, but he can't stop himself.

"Where were you tonight?"

There's too many answers to that question. Where has he been? To see a cartomancer in Bloomsbury, to take a walk along the Thames with a prince of Sheol. He's not sure which answer that Taeil would dislike the least. 

Apparently he's taken too long to answer. "Yuta! Where have you _been_?" Taeil's voice is sharper than Yuta has ever heard it. He's usually relatively mild mannered; competitive, teasing, playful. But rarely mad. 

Yuta can't even tell if this tone of voice is _mad_. There's an underlying note of something else that Yuta can't put his finger on. 

"I don't know, Taeil, lots of places, why does it matter?" 

"Why does it matter?" Taeil echoes, and it's then that Yuta notes that the underlying tone to his voice is fear.

"Why do you want to know?" Yuta asks again, his voice softer as a knot forms in his stomach.

"Yuta, your soul has been touched by a demon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if you were expecting them to get together in this one... tbh i was also expecting it but then they said no we're slowburn and that was that
> 
> BUT never fear there will be more instalments to this universe that will include that!! thank u for reading even though i trudged along at a snails pace because all i do is play animal crossing

**Author's Note:**

> say hi on [twitter](https://twitter.com/prismpvwer)


End file.
